A savvy woman has shared the lengths she went to to pay off her mortgage in just SEVEN years - including cutting her own hair and making her own make up.

Christine Lan, 40, has lived a frugal lifestyle ever since her parents moved to Canada from Mauritius in the 1970s.

She learnt how to stretch her budget and avoid living frivolously.

Christine started off by making her own skincare products out of kitchen oils - saving her hundreds of dollars a year - and bought shampoo bars, which can last her six months, instead of expensive shower gel.

She bought cast iron pans for her kitchen, instead of flimsy ones - and spent $150 on a bidet, to spend less money on toilet paper.

Christine insists making these changes allowed her to pay off her mortgage for her four-bedroom townhouse in seven years, and take her children - aged 15 and 17 - on vacation to Mexico, Cuba, and the Caribbean.

Christine, a content creator, from Montreal, Canada, said: "Frugality to me is about being grateful."

"I find that a lot of people feel like the newest shirt or product to feel happy."

"But being grateful for everything you have has brought a lot more fulfilment to my life - and a lot more happiness."

"It has also trickled down to the whole family over here - we all live frugally."

After moving over to Montreal, Canada, in the 1970s, before Christine was born, she said that her parents had to make their budget stretch as they didn't have enough money.

That, and getting married to her husband, aged 40, at a young age, meant that Christine carried on her frugal roots.

She said: "I started making my own skincare because I wanted to have an organic product on my face, but not spend so much."

"I started with skincare and then beauty, and then it just trickled down to every aspect of my life."

"I would get oils from the kitchen, which I would mix to make my own organic skin care."

Christine said there are a few items she doesn't mind splashing the cash on - including shampoo bars - because those items will save her money in the long run.

She said: "I will buy things like shampoo bars for $10 that I will use for my hair."

"It is more environmentally friendly because it doesn't come in a plastic container."

"I also bought some cast-iron pans for $50 each, instead of buying Teflon pans that seem to scratch really fast."

"I noticed we were spending lots of money on toilet paper, so we purchased a bidet - which has really helped with savings."

"Those are the kinds of things that I will spend money on upfront to save in the long run."

If you want to start living frugally, Christine said you need to audit your monthly paychecks to work out what you are paying for.

She said it is important to work out what you are paying for and see if you can live without it, or find alternative, cheaper options.

Christine said: "It is important to audit your monthly expenses that you have."

"Say, if you pay for Netflix, can you live without it? Or is there a cheaper alternative?"

"Even if you are paying $15 a month, that really adds up for one subscription."

"Then also look to see if there are jobs you pay people to do that you can do yourself."

"For example, we do lots of our own DIY. I even cut my own hair because it was costing so much to have someone else do those jobs for me."

Christine said that being frugal has allowed her to take her two children on vacation for the first time.

Earlier this year, the family went to the Caribbean.

Christine said: "When we got married, we didn't really have a lot of money."

"In the beginning, we didn't really travel as a family a lot."

"It wasn't until last year that we brought our kids on the plane for the first time."

"We are enjoying life at this stage. We're very fortunate we live off primarily one income because we are so frugal."